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Final Score: Matlock Town (Danny Holland 56) 1-1 Blyth Spartans (Dan Hawkins 45)
FULL TIME: Matlock Town 1-1 Blyth Spartans
86 mins: Matlock Town sub Radford on for Stokes
83 mins: Spartans sub Cummings for Hutchinson
83 mins: A clever one two between Hawkins and Rivers sends the latter in on goal but his shot is well saved by Kennedy
78 mins: Sub for Matlock as Thomas replaces Holland
76 mins: A brave last ditch block from Watson denies Stokes a certain goal as the hosts broke at lightening pace
76 mins: Under fifteen minutes left and this could go either way, both sides looking dangerous
67 mins: Spartans sub Rivers on for Wearmouth
66 mins: Sub for Matlock Town White on for Dawkins
64 mins: Pressure from the hosts sees Nicholson forced to clear Meade’s low drive off the line after Jeffries denied Holland
56 mins: GOAL Stokes cross from the right allows Holland to get up above Buddle and head home from eight yard MTFC 1-1 BSAFC
51 mins: First chance of the second half comes to the visitors as Stokes cuts inside Nicholson and fires at goal from twenty yards but Jeffries parries well
Spartans get the second half underway
HALF TIME: Matlock Town 0-1 Blyth Spartans (Dan Hawkins 45)
45 mins: GOAL SPARTANS: Good work from Hutchinson in midfield allows Maguire to release Hawkins in on goal and the former Bishop Auckland man makes no mistake with a cool finish MTFC 0-1 BSAFC
40 mins: A corner from the right sees Needham get above everyone and head over from around ten yards out
35 mins: A Dale corner from the right is headed to the edge of the box and is met by a Hooks volley but it’s straight at Kennedy, although the former Gateshead keeper has to take it at the second attempt
24 mins: First chance for the hosts as Osborne flicks on Leesley’s cross from the left but Jeffries beats Holland to the ball
22 mins: A mesmeric run down the left takes Robbie Dale past two defenders, however after cutting in from the byline his shot is saved low down by Kennedy
18 mins: Great work from Nicholson down the right sees him skip past Leesley and pull back to Hutchinson. His ten yard drive is bravely blocked by Haggerty
10 mins: Ten minutes in and Spartans have settled quicker but no real chances as yet.
KICK OFF: Referee Barry Lamb blows the whistle and the hosts get us underway
The teams are out as Spartans look to put Tuesday’s defeat at Ashton United behind them here at the Autoworld Arena. Last year’s fixture saw a late goal from Ash Davis snatch a point for Spartans while the previous player saw the same player score twice in a 3-1 Spartans win. The sun is out and we are ready to go at a picturesque ground.
Teams
Matlock Town: Kennedy, Harcourt, Leesley, Dawkins, Haggerty, Yates, Stokes, Meade, Holland, Osborne, Needham Subs: Radford, Thomas, White, Snodin, Leese
Blyth Spartans: Jeffries, Nicholson, Parker, Buddle, Watson, Hooks, Hutchinson, Hawkins, Dale, Maguire, Wearmouth Subs: Robinson, Rivers, Bell, Cummings, Sayer
Referee:
Updates:
Team News: Three changes for Spartans as Neal Hooks, Dan Hawkins and Ryan Hutchinson replace Ben Sayer, Matthew Wade and Paul Robinson.